Rose Thorns
by Shiroi Ryuu
Summary: Past memories make Van forget roses have thorns... and Hitomi's magic cure makes up for all that darn foolishness. :)


Rose Thorns  
  
1.1 Shiroi Ryuu  
  
  
  
S  
  
ummer time was obviously hot, and I can't remember when did I experience a lot of perspiration pour out of my body, even at ten o' clock in the morning. The air smelled of burnt grass. Nobody wanted to go outside for fear they might get sunburned as soon as they do. Everybody was out in the gazebo and the shaded garden drinking their morning tea. Merle was playing in the grass and making daisy chains, like she always did when we were on family picnics when we were kids. Her happy blue cat eyes looked at me wistfully just then, and I smiled at her regretfully, for all those glorious days gone past. Somehow, I wanted to go to a picnic and be a child again and not be ashamed if I'm wearing daisy chains on my head or roll in the grass like I used to do in my childhood days.  
  
I was in the gazebo with the rest of them: Allen was talking to Millerna about a subject on flowers. He was saying that he liked white lilies, as he remembered his mother and little sister in them. I don't know how Allen manages to deal with his family torn apart just like that. He was still calm and organized, like his hair. Millerna, I observed, was wearing a light calico dress, an obvious sign of summer. She looked rather pale, since she came home from the medical school in Basra. Her father chided her again for her ambitions, saying that she might risk her health if she continued her studies. But I think that it was good for her to spend her time on such worthy ambitions, rather than staying at home and brushing her hair and sewing silk handkerchiefs. She was one of the few girls I've seen who made good use of their time. Maybe King Ashton hasn't seen the benefits of having a doctor in the family yet, but maybe he will when he gets his first heart attack. (Not that I want that to happen, but Mil deserves some kind of acknowledgement for her achievements sometimes.)  
  
Maybe you are smiling at me now, saying I'm not mentioning another person. Okay. Hitomi was sitting on the steps of the gazebo chaining daisies herself. She seemed engrossed in it. Her tea was next to her, getting colder every minute. I watched her for the longest time. And I found my chair convenient enough, because it was positioned at a considerable angle, enough to see her face. She was especially pretty this morning, and although I hid it well in the face, I was fascinated with her as she strung daisies on the nylon thread. Millerna was kind enough to give her a white dress, and I thought she looked like an angel I've seen in a picture before. But there was no one like her. The glints of concentration in her eyes were like a spell in my soul. I liked her; she was interesting and she had an air about her that made you feel comfortable. I always wanted to be with her, because she talked about a lot of things that, if I heard from another person, would completely baffle me. Hitomi had this way of explaining things without being blunt. She was quiet and was not petty, but she had spirit. She knew when she has to slap someone. And do I ever have an experience with that.  
  
For a while, only Millerna and Allen's hushed voices filled the garden. All of us were silent. Suddenly, Hitomi took my hand and squeezed it. "Hey, how about a walk?"  
  
I looked up at her and felt my heart twist in a wonderful, pleasant ache. The crowns of daisies were on her head, and she was smiling at me, her green eyes shining like emeralds in sunlight. She looked like a woodland fairy, but I didn't tell her that. The others might hear me and suspect something.  
  
"Sure."  
  
We started walking down the stone pathway leading to the Iron Gate. For once I was surprised that Merle did not notice us walk away. I was jumpy; I don't know why my hands got cold. Hitomi looked so calm and cheerful as she looked at the surroundings. I felt kind of uncomfortable because of the silence. Then I felt Hitomi tug at my shirt, like a little girl.  
  
"Oh, look at the roses! They look so beautiful!" The roses, to say the least, were magnificent, even if I like white roses more than red. They had a touch of morning dew on their petals, and made me remember my mother. She loved roses so much.  
  
Hitomi was already beside the rose- bush, touching the flowers softly. When I came up behind her she looked at me, her eyes wistful, and I thought she was about to cry.  
  
"I really love red roses best," she sighed. "I can't even remember when I saw the first red rose I got. I guess it's from my father."  
  
"Is your father still alive."  
  
"Yeah. But I guess I really miss him."  
  
"I guess he must be proud to have a daughter like you." I said that before I knew it. Hitomi smiled and stared into my eyes. Did she know that I might melt if she kept on doing that?  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"Roses remind me of my mother. She had a garden full of them, but-," I choked. Hitomi nodded knowingly and smiled sadly.  
  
"Fanelia got burnt to the ground."  
  
I shivered although it was starting to get hotter. The roses were a symbol of the past I really didn't want to forget. Without thinking, I bent down and picked one. I supposed I forgot roses had thorns, and pricked my fingers hard enough to remind me. I exclaimed as the blood poured from my fingers. The rose, blood-stained at the stem was left in the dust. My eyes widened at the thorn that protruded from my index finger.  
  
Hitomi grew white and touched my hand. "Let me get the thorn out."  
  
No way. Even if I really like you I would not let you do that.  
  
"No, I'll just do it myself." But my finger throbbed so painfully it was hard not to shout.  
  
"Come on, I promise it would not hurt, okay?" Something in Hitomi's eyes urged my insides to trust her. I didn't want to walk around having a thorn on my forefinger all day. Might as well get over it.  
  
Hitomi took my hand and told me, "Close your eyes."  
  
I looked at her for a moment and squeezed my eyes shut. Hitomi was gripping my wrist so tight that I felt so numb. At first I felt a slight throb, then a warm, soft dampness. It felt so good that I needed to open my eyes to see what it was. When I opened my eyes, I nearly fainted at the sight.  
  
Hitomi was sucking my finger.  
  
She saw me looking at her as if my eyes would pop out. Her eyes glowed something strange and triumphant. She slipped my finger out of her mouth and wiped it with the hem of her dress. She didn't say anything.  
  
"What did you do that for?"  
  
"I had to let the blood out of your finger." She said that nonchalantly. I stared at her as the picked up the rose, avoiding the thorns. She handed the rose to me. "Here."  
  
I did not get the rose. "It's for you. For saving my finger."  
  
Hitomi laughed and pulled me up so I can stand. There was a weird sensation on my finger. Geez. I couldn't forget the feeling of her lips enclosed there. It was so. different.  
  
Then there was that feeling that hit me like a tidal wave. I was never so in love as I am now. I felt my world getting rebuilt again, with her in the center of it.  
  
Hitomi was silent as we walked on, rose in hand. Then she abruptly faced me before I could say anything, then she kissed me. Hard. I don't know why, but my mind went blank. What was I to do? I've never even kissed somebody before! So I did what she did. I leaned it and pressed my lips gently back at her. I could hear her sigh quietly. Me, I was numb with emotion. Gods, please make everything stay always this way.  
  
I thought she was going to pull back already when she parted her lips slightly. I almost yelped when her tongue made its way into my mouth. I didn't know what to do, so I welcomed it. And I tasted my blood; I tasted her. I was in the highest heaven.  
  
Hitomi pulled back, almost breathless, her eyes gazing so intently into mine. I felt my hand snake itself into hers and held it. We just stood there, faces almost against each other, breathing in the sweetness of the air that passed between us. It was hard not to go and kiss her again. She looked at me and smiled so beautifully.  
  
"Your blood tastes so good." She grinned at me as I gave her a kiss beside her lips.  
  
"You're strange, Hitomi. You're the strangest girl I've ever met."  
  
"And you're the strangest guy I've ever met, too." She pushed away some of my bangs to get a better look on my face.  
  
I took in a deep breath and said it. "Maybe that's why I. I love you, Hitomi."  
  
"We're both strange, don't you think?" She need not say more after that, because I already knew that she loved me too.  
  
  
  
~*end rose thorns*~  
  
A/N #1: Yo! Well, this is another short- scale fic from me. How strange. Anyways, it's been a long while since I posted. Me's sorta busy with school and stuff, but I'm glad to say I'm HAPPY that it's near Christmas. But nervous though, 'cuz of the results of my exam. If I fail Math, what would I do? Anyways, isn't this fic strange? It's even stranger than I thought it would be. It's really one chaptered, just a vent to the wonderful force of happiness overflowing within me, because it's CHRISTMAS! Yahoo!  
  
A/N #2: 'Rose Thorns' really expresses my belief in hidden meanings. Although it isn't really portrayed in this fic, I guess it basically says that what a person expresses isn't always what he really wants to say. What inspired me? Van and Hitomi, and a personal experience of my own. It's really amazing on how life affects they way we write our stories, right? Anyways, gotta go and chill. take care!!!!  
  
Shiroi Ryuu 


End file.
